THE PERFECT LEAD STORY IS MICHELLE ULRICH, out of the San Diego office running the New York City Marathon in an incredible time of 3:14:45! Michelle says it was an amazing day! I am so excited about my time. I trained really hard to hit a 3:15 and finished a little below that. This is a PR for me in the marathon by almost 12 minutes. Definitely one of my favorite courses and it helped to have my mom, dad and sister cheering me on at 3 different points. I finished in the top 190 females and 2181 overall!

SARAH MOOSBRUGER, SD office also ran the NYC Marathon yesterday! This was my 3rd, and I ran it with my sister and father this year, it was an amazing experience once again. My father is 65 (this was his 9th marathon, which is mind-boggling to me), and together we introduced my younger sister to the amazing experience that is the New York City Marathon. Needless to say, she had a great time. My father's been nursing a ruptured hamstring for the past year, so we stayed with him until mile 21 at which point we broke away to try and break the 5 hour mark...didn't happen (5:01 was our time) but it's not the time that counts - just another incredible experience and to do it with my family was even better!

Hey Sarah your Dad's a stud running with a bad Hammie!

Sisters ANGIE GIANULIS & ALICIA TOWERY ran with their team, Carols Rack Pack, at the Race for the Cure in San Diego on Sunday. The team ran in celebration of Angie and Alicias mom, who is currently going through breast cancer treatments.

KIRK JENSEN, Edmonton Office Golf Division Ran the Hamilton Half Marathon in 1h:32m. A strong run and 7min off my PB, finished in the top 10 for my Division. Did the run in preparation for the Philly marathon on Nov 23 (Are you ready to rock Amber!). Ran by heart rate/exertion, non stop for the first time. Over the last 5K I reeled them in. Run smart at the beginning and hard at the end. No body passes this off campus Active X man on the hills or in the last 5K!

The BELMONTES had a successful weekend on the soccer field. Hana (and Jons) Girls U8 team came back to win a hard fought game 2-1, with Hana assisting on the winning goal (as much as 7 years olds assist each other). Calvins U6 team won 5-4 as well. Jon and Rita also started logging some miles with a short run on Sunday. PLUS A LITTLE SMACK TALK! To cap off the near perfect weekend, the family watched the NY Giants dismantle the Dallas Cowboys 35-14. Sorry for the painful reminder Scott Evans at least you can look forward to a higher draft pick next April, tough guy.

TOBY GUILLETTE, Community Development Specialist, finished off my training program on Saturday with an hour swim, 2-hour bike ride and 2-hour run in preparation for Silverman next Sunday in Nevada. Silverman is a full 140.6-mile triathlon and considered the most difficult in North America due to the grueling elevation gain (9500ft) during the bike course. Im hoping to have good news to report this time next week!

CHRIS WHEELER, Account Exec Blue Bear competed in the Newport Autumn Rowing Festival with San Diego Rowing Club. We raced in the Open 8+ category against forty or so other collegiate and masters crews. The beautiful Newport Beach weather took a break for the race as it poured the entire time we were on the water.

LIZ & SCOTT HARRELL had another successful training ride in San Diego. Liz rode 81.4 miles (every 10th counts!) with over 2,800 feet of climb, including a nasty hill on Old Highway 395 (AKA Champagne Highway), starts just North of the Lawrence Welk Resort, head South and climb! No breeze, no clouds and a waaaaaarm day made for a difficult climb oh and I ran out of water half way up.

Scott had a similar ride, but with a few more miles and feet of climb 85 miles and 3,000 feet of climb. Oh and 3 flats!!!

JIM GARFIELD (AMG) has continued to taper (as advised by triathlon legends Mark Allen and Scott Tinley at last weekends CAF race) by cheering at this weekends Muddy Buddy race. His friends Jenny Fletcher and Angie Greene appreciated the support and even shared the mud!

KEVIN BEATTY & ERIKA WINTER ran the Susan G. Komen 5K Race for the Cure run in Balboa. It was an easy run, and exciting running along with 10,000+ people. Its always incredible just hearing about many of the cancer surviving stories and very inspiring for a Sunday morning.

MELISSA EISLER also ran the Race for the Cure in Balboa Park San Diego. More than 10,000 people come out every year to support breast cancer -- always a great event.

DONT YOU JUST LOVE THE FALL WORKOUT AND SPORTS SEASON? CREATE A SUCCESSFUL WEEK FOR YOURSELF! Mike

LIZ & SCOTT HARRELL (San Diego) one of our few Husband and Wife teams here at Active rode all over San Diego County on Saturday. From Poway, around Rancho Bernardo, across the 56 to the Coast, up the 101 and back again to the 56 and back to Poway. Liz covered 71 miles with 3200 feet of climb and Scott tackled 80 miles with 3800 feet of climb. We are just a few weeks away from the big event the El Tour de Tucson! 109 miles through scenic Tucson, AZ. We are both on this crazy journey raising funds for a great cause, finding a cure for blood cancers. Check out our websites: http://pages.teamintraining.org/sd/tucson08/lharrell and http://pages.teamintraining.org/sd/tucson08/sharrell

TOYA REAVIS ran in the Pumpkin Patch 4 Mile Cross Country race this Saturday in Bonita a suburb of San Diego. The course was at Sweetwater Park - no big hills just some inclines, lots of twists and turns. I had an off day. I ran 25:26 and was 4th in my age group. The big (final) championship series race is Nov. 8th on the famous 4 mile Morley field course. (that crazy hill twice! I cried on the way up and had a recover for 10 minutes after we safely landed on the ground, but it felt great to confront a major fear. My favorite part was after my tandem-jumper-man pulled the chute and we got to float around over Otay lakes, and enjoy a view of San Diego that Id never seen before. Weird to see my feet dangling thousands of feet over the ground!

SKIP CLEAVER ran at the Hamptons Half Marathon and Rockfest yesterday at Hampton Beach, New Hampshire. I was fourth in division with a (slow) time of 2:04:02. Beautiful course along the crashing surf of the Atlantic shore. Second half marathon in two weeks. Way to go Skip now when will you do the Marathon?

The 33rd Annual Marine Corps Marathon one of Actives largest clients was held this weekend and we were represented well. The team of ANGIE GIANULIS, JAMIE CAMERON, MICHELLE CREAPEAU, TIM MACMAHON, MIKE DOBRANSKY, MIKE COLEMAN & MIKE REILLY worked the event and entertained many of our other events attending.

But CAITLYN BARKER, Support Team Lead was the real Hero in DC she ran the Marine Corps Marathon yesterday breaking 5:00 hours. Saturday brought torrential downpours to the Virginia area which had everyone a little nervous but yesterday couldnt have been more beautiful, great running weather! 60 degrees, clear skies and streets lined with fall leaves. The course was absolutely gorgeous and well staffed with volunteers, Marines and more fans than Ive ever seen on a marathon course. My sister cheered me on the whole way. I highly recommend this race, especially to first timers. Just beware of the (very) steep hill on the last tenth mile of the course, talk about a harsh approach to the finish!! J

JULIE WOOLF and her Husband ANTON competed as a relay team in the Challenge Athletes Foundation (CAF) San Diego Triathlon Challenge. Anton did the swim and Julie did the run. Unfortunately, due to intense fog, the swim was cut short, but it was still a blast and Anton finished in just under 10 minutes. FRAN BENEDICT accompanied me on the run portion. We started early before it got hot, and we finished 1:45:48 unofficially  not bad considering Fran was running on just 3 hours of sleep and this was my first race 8-months postpartum. The event was amazingly inspiring as always. There were heroes all over the course. We were just lucky to take part and cheer everyone along.

!CAF_1897.jpg!

JIM GARFIELD, (AMG) also participated in the 15th annual Challenged Athlete Triathlon in La Jolla this weekend raising money for the Challenged Athlete Foundation. After a 56 mile bike and 13 mile run, I realized I need to do a lot more Active X!

STEVE MAZZA sales person extraordinaire in San Diego rode his mountain bike on a hilly 22 mile dirt ride through technical trails in Mission Trails Regional Park. I ascended the east side of Cowles Mountain from Big Rock Park in Santee. Great views from the summit, looking over East County towards the Cuyamaca Mtns.

EMILY OGATA, (Application Specialist, NFL) and KRISTIN HARTOS, (Implementation Analyst, LeagueOne) travelled to St. Louis over the weekend to compete in the USA Rugby National Championships Round of 16. Our team, the San Diego Surfers, was the lone representative from the Southern California region and #12 seed overall (based on last years results). The results of our game on Saturday against Keystone (#5) were frustrating. We frequently lost possession of the ball in both set and loose pieces, often failed to execute when we got the ball out to the backs, and missed some crucial tackles  resulting in our disappointing 5-17 loss to the Pennsylvania-based club. Sundays game against the Philadelphia Women (#13) was a completely different story. Philly came out running hard and touched down for the first try of the game in the opening 10 minutes, but missed the conversion to go up 5-0. Our scrumhalf took a quick tap at the 40-meter, spun the ball wide to the left winger who sprinted downfield for our first try to tie the match (missed conversion). We did a much better job retaining and winning possession of the ball in the scrums, line-outs and rucks, helping get clean ball out to the back line to score several tries throughout the game. We beat Philly by a final score of 36-8. Since we lost on Saturday, we do not advance to the Top 8 in Florida in November  and will end up between 9-12th place overall. Thanks again to everyone at Active for your support! J

NCHOLAS MOWBRAY, JARED & CARSON HINCKLEY with a friend went up to the Kern River, which is apart of the Sequoia National Park. A lot of trout fishing, hiking, and camping made for a great weekend. The stars at night were incredible!

MARATHON MANIA FALL SEASON IS UPON US! HAVE A GREAT WEEK EVERYONE. Mike

SCOTT EVANS, TIM MCMAHON, MICHELLE CREPEAU, JAMIE SNOW, AND TRACY SCHUSTER worked the Chicago marathon last weekend representing Active. This photo is from the finish line, what a good looking group!

Congrats HEATHER HAWKES who finished her first triathlon this weekend at Mission Bay in San Diego! It was the Mission Bay Womens Series-Sprint distance and it was incredible!! There were 1000 women in the event and it was such a fantastic first experience.

JIM HINE in Sun Valley on Saturday rode Adams Gulch just west of Ketchum ID. We weren't sure why the 20-mile loop was marked "abusive" on the map until we came upon 'shale city" - a mile of sharp rock slides that made pushing the bike...you know, abusive. We climbed a total of 5,560' to just above 8,500'. Our descent was all single track - with technical sections passing through burn areas from last year's Castle Peak fire  followed by tight switchbacks through turning Aspens that formed tunnels over the trail. On Sunday we rode "in town" on Bald Mountain from the River Run chair to the Warm Springs chair. This new trail traverses the ski runs through dozens of switchbacks! It was tough not to peek at the white-capped Boulder Mountains instead of focusing on the descent weaving through the pines. We closed-out the weekend with a dip in the hot springs followed by prime rib and huge baked-potatoes at the Pioneer Saloon and washed down with a 'few' Sun Valley Ales.

JANEAN NATION, Account Manager for Active Sports ran in the Nike Womens Half Marathon yesterday in San Francisco with my mom and oldest sister. It was an amazing experience to be a part of over 20,000 women running the streets of San Francisco!

MICHELLE VALENTI did the Women's Triathlon on Sunday in San Diego with her sister? It was her first tri and we entered the family division of the supersprint so that we could go in the same wave. We had a blast and now there is one more person hooked on tri!

MEGAN DUVALL, Prod Mkt Analyst and her friend Laura Craig ran the full Nike Womens Marathon in San Francisco this weekend. It was our second marathon together and we both PRd! We probably could have gotten an even better time if we hadnt taken pictures, but it was such a beautiful course!

BURT REPINE (far right) and his mother (center) were last minute fill-ins for his wife's (second from right) work team at the Camp Pendleton Mud Run on Saturday. They finished 14th out of roughly 365 teams overall in a time of 1:09:52. "Not bad considering we had 2 guys on the team" his mother cracked. Cheering them on were his two sons Noah (in foreground) and Max (center with grandma). What a blast of a race this is! Highly recommended. WAY TO GO MOM!

More Mud Runners BRYAN PAIJIT, MIKE MACDONALD, DANNY ROA, JESSE HAMMOND AND BRYAN PAVIN ran the Camp Pendleton Mud Run. It was a 10k obstacle course which included walls, pipe crawls, a lake crossing, mud pits and mud crawls. Our team finished in 1:14 minutes which was 15th in the mens team division and 32nd overall in the teams. The race was fun, although the first 5k was just a long uphill run without any obstacles. The last 5k made up for it though.

The JON BELMONTE family were in Sequoia National Park last week. You can check out the pictures on Jons Facebook page. Plus in the U6 Soccer matchup of the weekend, Calvin Belmontes Land Sharks and Jackson Landas Silver Serpants dueled to a 1-1 tie. Good time had by kids as well as parents. Jon we all know a tie to Matt Landa is like a loss!

What an amazing ride and great way to start the weekend! Come join them next weekend for Andreas B-day.

TOYA REAVIS, Implementation Analyst raced the Cougar Chase 5K Cross Country Meet at Cal State Marcos in San Diego County this Saturday. Again, I had a crazy physically emotional week leading up to this race so it was not a great effort but I won my age group and ran 20:09 on a fairly easy Cross Country course (no steep hills but slight inclines on the double loop). Only 2 more races before the Cross Country series finish.

MIKE REILLY announced the 30th Anniversary of the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii last weekend for his 20th year. He was honored to have been part of an autograph session with Ironman World Champion MICHELLE JONES of Australia and BOB BABBITT Ironman Hall of Fame inductee.

ARCH FUSTON always discovering ways to hurt and have fun! Arch and his wife Christy did some reconnaissance work for the up coming ActiveX Winter Running Series. They discovered a set of trails that are close to the office and will lend themselves quite nicely for the series. Headlamps, trail shoes, and gaiters required!

JENNI MILLER did her 2nd triathlon - The U.S. Women's Sprint Triathlon at Fiesta Island in San Diego. It was a very different experience doing this tri alone as opposed to my Solana Beach experience; however I had a bunch of friends come out and support me which really helped me get through it! I ended up finishing in 1:34. Can't wait for the next one! Hey Jenni I did my first triathlon on Fiesta Island back in the late 70s.

STEVE MAZZA spent the weekend in Sequoia Natl Forest in California at the Kern Fat Tire Festival, mountain biking the epic Cannell Plunge. 8,000 feet of extreme vertical (mostly descent) covering gorgeous terrain in the Sierra Nevadas. At 28 miles it was a long day! The top of this ride started with a hail storm. This is the type of ride with crazy dropoffs, steep rocky descents, and long sweeping downhill single-track. One that you are glad to make without injuries. A guy on our trip had a compound fracture of his ulna, his right hand dangling free and his forearm bone sticking out through skin; another had internal injuries and had to be carried off the mountain by motorbike after he plunged 30 ft off a cliff face. Once back in town, we relaxed on Ewings deck, sipping a cold beverage on the banks of the Lower Kern River. Pic attached.

Yes Steve it sounds like fun except for that poor Dudes crash!

LIZ HARRELL reports that Scott (AP Specialist in SD) and Liz (Product/Project in SD) accomplished another milestone in their training. Scott rode 73 miles and Liz rode 61 miles around San Diego County this Saturday. Gorgeous weather accompanied us on our 7 hour day as we covered the miles and more than 3,000 feet of climb. We are both training for the El Tour de Tucson that will be taking place November 22nd 109 miles!!! Good thing were doing this through Team in Training!!! Check out our websites: http://pages.teamintraining.org/sd/tucson08/sharrell and http://pages.teamintraining.org/sd/tucson08/lharrell

ASHLEY ELLIS, Account Exec. Swimming this weekend was ACTIVE taking part in The Tourist Attractions of San Diego. With my families first visit in 2 years we went to the Birch Aquarium, Wild Animal Park and took part in kayaking in the COVE. The best part about the cove kayaking was seeing 3 dolphins and a school of 50 leopard (the nice ones) sharks. The leopard sharks are so cute so where the Monday night swimmers take off watch your step tonight.

I did the Fiesta Island Time Trial on Sunday morning. It was a brisk morning with just enough wind to make it hurt that much more. It was my first cycling race, so it was way outside my comfort zone, but a fun experience none-the-less. Afterwards, I went on a 40 mile cool-down ride up the coast with friends.

Steve Mazza

I rode my mountain bike at Mission Trails Regional Park (with former Active-ite Matt Codling) on Sunday. After some sweet downhill sections, we pedaled up South Fortuna Mountain as far up as we could, then carried our bikes up the west face to the top. Incredibly clear views to the east of the San Diego backcountry, and to the southwest of the Coronado Islands and Mexico.

Bill Bliven, Account Executive- Major Accounts

Twenty two riders from all over the country descended on Lake Tahoe for our 12th annual Old Guy Mountain Bike Camp As in previous years, the trails, and the weather and rider entertainment were outstanding. The weather for the weekend: sunshine, rain, snow and wind were the order. As for our rides the scenery, workouts and crashes were better than ever! We spent our days on four fantastic, but different trails.

An update from last weekend on behalf of Emily Ogata Application Specialist, NFL and me Kirstin Hartos, Implementation Analyst:

Our rugby team, the San Diego Surfers, secured our regions only seed for the USA Rugby National Championships in a decisive 24-0 win over our league rival Belmont Shore in the Southern California championship last weekend (please note: no ambulances or trips to the ER this time). The first round of the tournament is held in St. Louis, MO on October 25-26 with the potential to advance to the finals in Sanford, FL on November 8-9. The Surfers are one of only 16 teams that get the chance to compete at this level. Since we are a non-profit organization, funded almost solely by player dues, we are asking everyone we know to make a donation to help defray the cost of traveling and competing at a national level. All donations are completely tax deductible. Any support would be greatly appreciated and will assist us in bringing recognition to Southern California womens rugby. Visit our donation page here: http://active.com/donate/sdsurfersrugby2008. Or check out our website for more info on the team: http://sdsurfersrugby.com. Thanks in advance for your support!

Mathew Henry

I ran the 2008 Chicago Marathon with my sister after a rough 2007 outing. We made it to the halfway point in 2:20, but the 80 degree heat got the better of us and we finished together in 5:07. All in all, the marathon went much better for Chicago this time around. Lots of water and much less busy medical tents. All the better as they go for the Olympics in 2016!

Patti Rosenthal

Did the annual 55-mile mtn bike ride from Durano to Farmington. A beautiful mtn bike ride on back oil roads & ends on 12 miles of awesome single track. There were 8 of us & I was the token female on the ride. It took us 6 hrs & 45 minutes which included 2 lunch stops

Mike MacDonald, Web Developer

From Tuesday to Friday I visited my aunt and uncle that live in a remote area of Mono Lake. Wednesday I did some manual labor for their landscaping business in about 35 degree weather. Thursday I drove 10 miles on an unpaved road to visit the ghost town Bodie, where I hiked around for 7 hours taking pictures and finding cool artifacts in 30 degree weather (and 50 mph wind!). Friday morning greeted me with 14 degrees on the thermometer, and a blizzard between Mono Lake and Reno. Tons of fun!

Toby Guillette, Community Development Specialist

This weekend marked the end of my peak training for Silverman (my first Ironman) in November. Saturday I ran 22 miles from La Jolla Shores to Fletchers Cove in Solana Beach and ran into Michele Ulrich who was out for her final long run before her NYC Marathon next month. We ran together for ~6 miles. On Sunday, Ryan Drew, Airey Baringer, Rebecca Divita and I froze on our bikes in 32 degree temps at the start of our ride in Pine Valley. We rode the Laguna Triangle route which included over 30 miles of climbing in the mountains east of San Diego. Heres the shot of the day:

MATT & JENNIFER LANDA, DAVE & CHRIS ALBERGA and MIKE REILLY all played at the Coastwise Mile event held Saturday just down the street from the original Active office in La Jolla, CA (such good memories!). The event was sponsored by Coastwise Financial the company owned by one of Actives original founders and former CFO SCOTT KYLE (back right of pic) and his wife CARLIE KYLE a former Sales rep at Active (Yes an Active romance & marriage). Scott ran the Mile and their son JET ran the 50 yard dash.

MATT & JENNIFER LANDA were there with their 3 boys (all pictured) who each ran very fast and had fun. Even though their youngest, 2 year old ADAM decided to go missing during the event but was found heading down the stairs to the beach! DAVE & CHRIS ALBERGA ran with their daughters KATE & EMMA. KATE & MOM ran the Mutt Mile with their dog SCOUT while DAVE ran most of the way with EMMA on his shoulders.

MIKE REILLY said announcing a 1 mile event this Saturday then next Saturday (Oct.11) the 140.6 mile 17 hour Ironman Hawaii World Championship is a bit of a contrast to say the least. Oh well someone has to do it! Then on Sunday, Reilly rode the 62 mile Tour de Poway bike event with over 3000 ft of climbing in east San Diego County!

JON BELMONTE reported another active weekend for the Belmontes. This weeks soccer matches had an interesting twist Silent Saturday. Parents and coaches were restricted from yelling, screaming and cheering during the game. An interesting experiment benefits were that the kids were forced to be more self motivated / directed while also having the figure the game out on their own (as opposed to be told what to do by parents and coaches the entire game). The other benefit was a heightened awareness by adults re: whats appropriate behavior on the sidelines. Hana and Jons team won their U8 Girls game 2-0, while Cal scored 2 goals in his teams U6 co-ed game.

On Sunday, Rita and Hana went on a Brownie troop hike at Torrey Pines reserve, and then joined Calvin and Jon for fishing at Crystal Pier. They came back empty handed, but had a good time nonetheless.

CAITLYN BARKER reports that she and MIKE DOBRANSKY (Team Lead, LeagueOne) ran, crawled, climbed and push-upd their way through the Boot Camp Challenge this weekend at MCRD. Mike raced the Mens Elite division and placed 5th in his division and 20th overall with a time of 20:19. My friend Chelsey and I came in much later with a time of 31:37 but had a blast! They added a few new obstacles this year making for a very fun but still challenging run. ANDA WILLETT (Software Trainer, Active Net) came to cheer us on and decided it looked like so much fun that shes going to participate next year! I included a couple of pictures; my favorite is Chelsey getting creamed by one of the Drill Instructors I should have known better than to stop and laugh because he dropped me for ten pushups right after that .lesson learned!

PATTI ROSENTHAL (Industry Manger, Cycling in Durango, CO) did the Road Apple Rally on Saturday in Farmington, NM. It's the longest running annual mountain bike race - 28th anniversary this year. A fast, fun course with lots of whoop sections. Finished 1st in the Beginner Women's 40-49 Division (blue-hair division). Main goal was to stay upright since I had fresh stitches in the arm from a MTB crash last Thursday.

TOYA REAVIS competed in the Balboa Boogie Cross Country 5K Race on Saturday. It was at Morley field in Balboa Park (without the crazy hill). Unfortunately I had a very emotional 2 weeks and no sleep the last 2 days before the race. I won my age group in 20:39. I am fitter than 6:39 pace but I could not move due to no sleep. I am glad I could win my age group and keep my team in first place in this Cross Country series.

MIKE MACDONALD, Web Developer, finished my first triathlon in 1 hour 10 minutes, just slightly slower than I had hoped. The weather was great and Im already looking forward to my next tri. Thanks to all the Active folks that came out and cheered us on!

MARC VILLANUEVA, Web Applications Developer in SD, did the Mission Bay Triathlon this past Sunday. This was my first triathlon and I had a good time. Thanks to all of the Active folks who came out to cheer us on.

MARK WARBLE, Desktop Management Admin, participated in the Mission Bay Tri yesterday (sun 10/5). It was nice being involved in one of the oldest triathlons held here in San Diego. I had a finishing time of 1:08:28. It was good to get back in the water even if it was Mission Bay. =) The morning was overcast and cool, which made for a nice race day. I was happy to hear cheers from fellow Active employees (thanks for the support!) and seeing other Active members participating.

KEVIN BEATTY, completed the Mission Bay Triathlon yesterday. Pretty interesting zig zag course and felt at times that a beach cruiser might have been a better choice of a bike to get through all of the puddles. Overall it was a great race and Im excited for the next one 70.3 anyone?

ASHLEY ELLIS was at the Mission Tri to cheer friends along. This was my girl Ashley and Jenny's first Tri and they did awesome. Here is a cute picture from the event also with Kevin Beatty (account ex. Tennis) who rocked it. I have never attended a Tri before where I was so impressed with how well everyone did. Congrats to everyone from Active!

BURT REPINE and his friend day hiked Mt. Whitney (14,497 ft.) on Sunday. Though the previous days snowstorm left some parts of the trail a little dicey we had a gorgeous day of weather w/o a cloud in the sky. The 21-mile roundtrip (we shaved a mile off of the distance by starting at the old trailhead) took roughly 11.5 hours and I am happy to report that I made it all the way back home and in bed by 9pm last night -

gotta love So. California! Heres a pic of me on the summit.

JAKE COONEY ran the Portland Marathon this weekend which was my first marathon. My goal was to get around 4:00 and ended up with a time of 3:40. It was a very scenic run with just enough rain to stay cool but not get soaked. Also, with the help of Lauren Dachille and Dana Blackwood, I got some video footage of the race director Les Smith for the ActiveEndurance website. Stay tuned! Im waiting for the website to post race photos. If they get posted before the report goes out, Ill send a photo. Thanks.

KRISTIN HACE, Online Advertising Account Manager, participated in the MCRD Bootcamp Challenge for the second year in a row. Its an extremely fun, fairly quick race thats 3 miles long with bootcamp-type obstacles to go through, such as jumping over walls, crawling through tunnels and pushup stations (blew through those, thank you very much for the practice Arch!) If you havent tried this one yet, definitely keep it on your radar for next year its a great group of people and a great time!

LAUREN DANCHILLE, along with Dana Blackwood and MIke Coleman, attend the Portland Marathon Event Directors College in conjunction with the Portland Marathon on Sunday. Dana and Lauren even participated in the 10k Mayor's Run that started at mile 20. It was a beautiful course and we even braved the rain!

KRISTI DUBIEL, Implementation Analyst, woke up bright and early to run in the Hope for a Cure 5k on behalf of the Arizona Diamondbacks. It was a perfect morning and it was so great to see so many people, young and old out supporting such a great cause. Immediately after the run I had to go to my indoor soccer game where we ended up losing 7-8!!! I have a fabulous battle wound on the back side of my leg. One of the guys launched a shot and my leg caught the brute of it and now I have an actual soccer ball bruise on my leg. It is pretty classy

JENNI MILLER, Account Manager, Running, did the MCRD Boot Camp Challenge this weekend. It was one of the most fun races I have ever participated in. Throughout the course there were drill sergeants yelling at everyone and obstacles you had to go through including hay jumps, tunnel crawls, fox holes & trenches. One note to anyone who ever does this race in the future  dont smile at the drill sergeants when they are yelling at you or you will be forced to do pushups until they allow you to proceed I learned that one the hard way! Good times!

GT from the San Diego Foundations team took part in the 23rd annual Tour De Poway. The 18 mile loop was scenic and the people great. Could have done without the 1,000ft climb though

Liz Harrell, San Diego Another great ride up the coast this weekend. 47 miles!!! This was after I had to take a 2 week break due to some medical stuff. UCSD up to Oceanside and back. No Torrey Pines this time. My goal was to increase mileage, not the number of times I conquered Torrey Pines &#61514; Im close to the half way mark as I train for my first century ride. Why the insanity? Check it out http://pages.teamintraining.org/sd/tucson08/lharrell

Amber Martin, Bret Harris, Andrea Rishmawi and friends summited Half Dome peak this weekend in Yosemite National Park. The weekend started off as great as we rented beach cruises and toured through the valley floor on Friday. Then came the 24 hour torrential downpour to try and dampen our spirits but in spite of a few soaked sleeping bags and the rather ominous beginnings, the weather cleared up on Sunday and we were able to make the climb. Standing at an elevation of 8,842ft, the 17 mile trek took about 12hrs roundtrip. The final ascent to the summit is made possible by some metal cables, a few wooden planks, and a traffic jam of people suspended at 60 degrees of granite slab!

THE MARATHON WORLD RECORD FELL THIS WEEKEND. HAILE GABRSELASSIE 35 YEARS OLD FROM ETHIOPIA RAN THE BERLIN MARATHON BREAKING HIS OWN WORLD RECORD BY 25 SECONDS; HE RAN AN AMAZING 2:03:59. THAT IS A 4 MINUTE 44 SECOND PACE PER MILE, INCOMPREHENSIBLE!!! THERE WERE 41,000 RUNNERS IN THE RACE WITH OVER 1 MILLION SPECTATORS IN THE CITY WATCHING.

SO HAVE A FAST WEEK! Mike

MARK WARBLE, Desktop Management Tech SD office participated in the AIDS Walk 2008 10K Run on Sunday and finished in a little under 45 mins. It was a nice overcast morning, which made for a cooler run. I was lucky enough to catch-up with fellow Active employees Michael Wilson and Amber Martin at the starting line. I was glad to see other Active members amongst the thousands of supporters participating in the walk and run.

MICHAEL WILSON also ran the 10K in the AIDS Run in Balboa Park yesterday. Great day, great event, worthwhile cause! Ran it in just over 45 minutes not a PR, but felt great!

JON BELMONTE and his family had a big weekend of youth soccer. His son Calvin played great defense and scored a goal in his teams U6 victory this past Saturday. Then daughter Hanas U8 girls team played an amazing game against the best team in their league, dropping a close 1-0 contest. Coach Jon could not be more proud of his Purple Dragons! Next time let's see pics of the kids Jon.

MICHELLE CREPEAU reports in from New York. Yesterday marked our first year with working with the Tunnel To Towers Run to benefit the Stephen Siller Foundation. Sharing quotes from our team, along with pics!!! Those participating from Active: EDNA CASTANEDA, JEN MAGNONE, CRAIG CULHANE, BRENDA SEIDNER, ANGIE GIANULIS AND MICHELLE CREPEAU.

JENNIFER SALTERS MAGNONE, Dir. New Business Active Marketing writes. This was one of the most memorable experiences Ive had since moving to New York City this year. There are no words to describe the emotions and motivation associated with this race  it truly is a living, moving tribute to the firefighters who paid the ultimate sacrifice on September 11th. Seeing all those people out there made me proud to be an American  cheesy, but true!

MICHELE CREPEAU, Sales Major Accounts said she was thrilled to finally be able to work with the Tunnel To Towers Run/ Walk as it is one of the best events in the US! My friends and co-workers had the honor of attending the dinner Saturday evening and participating yesterday in the event. Despite the rain, almost 20,000 people came out for the run/ walk. Running through the tunnel to be greeted by 343 firefighters holding photographs of the firefighters that lost their lives on 911 and another 343 firefighters holding American flags is truly the highlight. It was amazing to see firefighters and families who travel from around the world to join the Siller Family for this event. Along the course, there were hundreds of memorial reminders, yet mood is incredibly festive and inspiring as you remember all the good that came from the American people following 911.

BRENDA SEIDER REILLY, Dir Online Media writes: I have lived in New York all my life. This is one of the most moving events I ever attended, especially when the 343 firefighters walked in with pictures of our fallen heroes. It makes you realize that we need to treasure life everyday. Congratulations on this wonderful event that honors and celebrates everyone for their heroic deeds on 9/11.

EDNA CASTANEDA, Account Manager is proud of our NY office. This weekend the NYC Active office took part in the Tunnel to Towers Run/Walk. To say that it was one of the most inspiring events I have ever attended does not do the event justice. There were several key moments that stuck out: firefighters being in full uniform, a solider holding onto 3 huge tires with a mask on during the race but the most touching scene by far was definitely with the 343 firefighters lined up after the tunnel. It all brought tears to my eyes (while running of course). There was such a sense of patriotism but ultimately it was a huge reminder of how precious life is and that we should all be thankful for each blessed day that we are given. Special shout out: To Michele Crepeau who was so moved by this event that she worked hard to have be an Active Giving client for this race.

Stephen Siller, beloved husband and father of five, was a firefighter from Squad 1, Park Slope Brooklyn. On 9/11, he was off-duty, and on his way to golf with his 3 older brothers.When Stephen heard on his scanner that the World Trade Center had been hit, he turned his vehicle around and headed towards the site. When his truck was prohibited from entering the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, typically of him, he raced on foot towards the site with his gear strapped to his back.He was last seen alive on West and Liberty Streets where he, more than likely, went looking for his Squad, all of whom perished. The Tunnel to Towers Run retraces Stephen's footsteps on that fateful day. In running along his path, we honor the memory of all the Firefighters, Police, and EMS workers who performed their duty that day. In running this race, we are reclaiming still another part of the city for all our heroes and for all of those who died on 9/11.

MIKE READE, Software Developer SD office went hiking up in the San Bernardino Mountains and did a day hike to the summit of San Gorgonio. It was 13 miles each way with an altitude gain of 4600 feet, and well worth it. The views were incredible.

KRISTIN HARTOS, LeagueOne & EMILY OGATA, Application Specialist travelled to Minnesota with our rugby team (San Diego Surfers) over the weekend to two nationally-ranked teams in preparation for play-offs and nationals in the coming weeks. We played the Minnesota Valkyries (No. 8) on Saturday afternoon, and despite injuries to key players (including a broken leg), we won the back and forth battle 31-21. Sundays game against the Twin Cities Amazons (No. 4) was even tougher. We were up 5-0 heading into halftime, but the Amazons came back in the second half to tie the score 5-5. Later, our scrumhalf got a breakaway down the right side of the field, and passed to our wing who touched down in the corner to put us up 10-5. The Amazons scored again on a similar break down their sideline to tie the score again 10-10. We held them on the goal line for another long drive, but they eventually broke through our defensive line from about 5 meters out and scored down between the posts. They converted the kick to come from behind and win 10-17. We were definitely the underdogs coming into the weekend, so we were pleased to have come away 1-1 for the weekend. Marea Blue (formerly of Active) came up from her AmeriCorps post in Iowa as well to cheer us on and get some game time. Playoffs are this weekend in San Diego.

ARCH FUSTON celebrating his birthday went to Cancun, Mexico and participated in the Ironman Cancun 70.3. He said the Half Ironman was very Hot, Windy and a Brutal Day but he finished! Im sure most of us would also want to spend our birthday the exact same way as you Arch!

ROB PUCHER, Sales Rep Camp Register reports a Bothell office golf tournament last Friday, 9/12. We had 8 foursomes and finished just before dark. It was awesome and the food afterwards was stupendous!

The man at the grill in the first picture (IMG 148) is Rob Gillespie, who was the winner of the Active Iron Chef Contest. He was the recipient of some chef knives, an apron and a chefs hat! He made the best side dish, Beans a la Gillespie. I challenge anyone at Active to make a side dish more mouthwatering.

Nicole Wilde, Will Sablan, Doug Cheney & Joe Benoit were the winners of the golf tournament. They all will enjoy gift certificates to a fancy restaurant located near our Bothell office.

Some familiar Active names that enjoyed 18 last Friday were, Matt Ehrlichman, Robbie Rech and Stephen Branstetter. It looks like they have played a round or two in their lifetimes.

STEPHANIE SNAMAN from the SD office along with her parents (how cool is that) rode the Tour for Woodside up in Northern California. A 55 mile ride through the SF bay area backroads, absolutely beautiful. The ride included over 4,000 feet of climbing which meant for some bombing downhills. &#61514; It was a wonderful way to start the day! I was also able to finally meet Bonnie, an event director who I have worked with for the past few years.

SKIP CLEVER, Business Dev Mgr out of Nashua, NH ran the Lake Winnipesaukee Relay in New Hampshire on Saturday--this is a 65.1-mile loop around the famous lake. Eight legs, eight person teams, I ran the third leg a hilly 9.3 miles. This was the 20th annual (and an Active registry event). My team won our division, and two other teams from my club also took prizes. But could you spell Winnipesaukee correctly after the race?

ELLEN MANNING who calls herself the new girl in the UK office. I had softball games on Sunday - my team won the London Fastpitch Championship with two come from behind victories!! On an even more exciting note, I had the unbelievable opportunity to meet the USA Olympic head softball coach Mike Candrea and the face of USA softball Jessica Mendoza as they are touring Europe promoting softball and putting on clinics.

DEBRA URKA in the SD office spent the entire weekend SCUBA diving. ON Saturday I went out and did two boat dives, one at Point Loma kelp beds and one at the Yukon (a sunken Canadian warship that was turned into an artificial reef). It was amazing! On Sunday I did two shore dives, once into La Jolla canyon and one out to the Marine room to swim with the leopard sharks (by far the highlight of the weekend!).

SHAWN BOOM reports last Thursday the Active Educate sales team had a group outing at the Solid Rock Climbing Gym in Old Town San Diego. We missed having a few of our remote teammates join us but enjoyed the opportunity to challenge ourselves and each other to a great team building trip.

MARK WARBLE, Desktop Mgt Tech in SD participated in Urban Dare '08 on Saturday. It's an "Amazing Race" scavenger hunt-type event, where teams of two decipher clues in order to get to check-points. At each check-point you have to either take a photo of your team in front of a particular sign/landmark, complete a dare, or answer a trivia question. This year it took place in Pacific Beach. Although my teammate and I didn't finish in the top 10, we did have tons of fun and got at least a 6-7 mile run in that day (the clues were in no logical order, so we did a bit of back-and-forth). Shout out to Arch for making us do wheelbarrows at ActiveX. That was one of the challenges and we blew through easily.

And then on Sunday, he joined AIREY BARINGER for a 50-mile ride starting in Borrego Springs and climbing for 12 miles into the mountains. Airey had a big surprise when a Bighorn Sheep jumped off the rocks above and landed 10 feet in front of him in the middle of the road, then jumped over the gaurdrail on the other side of the road.

EDDIE STRICKLER ran in the University of Washington Sundodger Open meet on Saturday in rainy Seattle, WA. I ran the 8k course in 25:58 and finished 26th. This was my first time under 26 minutes and I was quite happy and muddy at the end of the day!

LIZ HARRELL, Dir Project Mgt had a great 44 mile cycling weekend with 1600 feet of climbing including tough Torrey Pines hill. Her route was UCSD to the Starbuck's in Carlsbad then back to UCSD, all along Highway 101. Somehow I messed up my left foot and cant walk on it very well. On top of that Ive messed up my right hand/arm as well. Too much pressure on the ulnar nerve apparently leads to some funky results. Try typing without full use of your right pinky. Its almost kinda funny, almost.

JENN MAGNONE, Director New Business Development out of the NYC office participated in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure Sunday, Sept 14. 25,000 people showed their support to fight breast cancer as they ran/walked a 5k through Central Park. Jenn ran her first 5k since she arrived in NYC and loved it! Good for you Jenn!

HOLY COW or HOLY FISH! TIM BRAMLET of the Englewood, Colorado office spent last Saturday fighting this 7 foot 250 pound Sturgeon on the Frasier River outside Vancouver. This behemoth fish worked out every muscle during the hour it took to land it.

CAROL TASHIRO, Tournament & Event Sales Coordinator Active Golf ran her first 10 miles. She is a training buddy for a girlfriend that's running next month in the Womens Nike Marathon in San Francisco. She ran 20 miles for first time in her life!

MIKE REILLY did an endurance event and finally after all these years WON! It was a 36 hole Golf tournament in San Diego. I won the first 18 in total gross and net. Then in the final 18 won again. Three trophys in one day, Ill never swim, bike or run again!

CAITLYN BARKER, Support Team Lead ran the very tough Camp Pendleton Heartbreak Ridge Half Marathonon Saturday! This race was a training event for the Marine Corps Marathon next month. I love this event because there are only 1100 participants and therefore never too crowded on the trail. Its a hilly off road 13.1 mile out and back course through the hills of Camp Pendleton. The weather was overcast and cool and we even got to enjoy a soundtrack of live fire exercises from some nearby artillery units. Overall I finished completely covered in dirt with a healthy realization that I have a lot to work on before next month!

DARIN ADLER & JENNI MILLER out of the SD office worked out in a different way and it was a challenge. They went to Luigis in Pacific Beach to take on the pizza eating contest. We had to try to take down a 30 inch pizza in less then an hour .8 pounds of bread and cheese!! Needless to say we did not quite finish but we gave it our best shot.

!pizza_starting.jpg!

The Paparazzi were out in force this weekend as The Active gang (Jim Garfield, Steph Snaman, Bethany Dominick, Chris Wheeler, Michael Dobransky, Rebecca Divita, Carson and Jarrod Hinkley and Aly Tyson) joined Mathew McConaughey, Jennifer Lopez, Anna Kournikova and a slew of other celeb's and participants in the inaugural Nautica Malibu Olympic Distance Triathlon and classic race this weekend. Jim followed the footsteps of our own Mike Reilly in announcing the race and shouting out the Active particpants.

My name is PAUL BALTOVICH a new Account Executive with the government group up here in BC. Im actually based in Toronto area. Im fairly new with Active Network, but as a very Active (pardon the pun!) individual within my community, I enjoy reading the updates as to what Active employees are doing to stay involved and stay healthy, making a difference in our communities where we work, live, and play.

This past weekend I spent coaching our Whitby Iroquois under 10 girls soccer team in the league championship round robin and finals out here in Whitby, ON, a community of approximately 115,000 people just east of Toronto. Whitby lays claim to producing some of the best soccer players in the Greater Toronto area with an organization that is dedicated to excellence. Over the course of the weekend, our girls played 5 round robin games in the championship pool, finishing with an undefeated record of 3 wins, 0 losses and 2 ties, sending us into the championship final Sunday afternoon against one of the teams who held us to a tie earlier in the day. The big game remained scoreless until mid-way through the second half when our opponents scored on a great shot from the left side of our goal. Our team gave the remainder of the game everything they had, ringing a shot off the goal post in the other end and threatening two other times. When the final whistle blew, our opponents held on for a 1  0 victory. My daughter Madeline played standout soccer during the championship, leading our team with 6 goals, 3 assists and most importantly encouraging her team mates. I am immensely proud of our teams accomplishments this year, and just how much they improved in their play as the season progressed. Way to go team!

TOBY GUILLETTE This weekend I had the pleasure of pacing my buddy during the final 25 miles of the Angeles Crest 100 Mile Endurance Run. Our run together began at 11 p.m. on Saturday and finished at 7 a.m. on Sunday. His 25-hour and 49-minute performance was good for 22nd overall. Im happy to have helped him achieve his goal and very impressed with his night running abilities on such a rugged and technical trail. This was also a great way for me to preview the course in case I choose to register for 2009.

JULIE HALLADAY played in the Play Ball for Paul softball tournament yesterday at Hourglass Park. It was a great tournament with the proceeds benefiting the Paul Jacobsons Hospital to Home: A Spinal Cord Injury Foundation. My team played 5 games yesterday with our first game at 8am and last at 7pm! Took me back to my younger years spending the entire day at the softball field and made me realize that Im not as young as I once was! J Even though we came up short, losing in the semi-final game, it was a great day at the field for a great cause.

MICHELLE SHAFFERE VP Compliance hiked Mt. Whitney this past weekend. The weather has never been so phenomenal! There was absolutely no wind to speak of and the scenery was breathtaking as usual.

EMILY OGATA & KRISTIN HARTOS had our second rugby game of the season this Saturday against the Scottsdale Lady Blues WRC. Both teams came out hitting hard and the Blues were the first to put points on the board. After that we held them scoreless and we were able to come back and defeat them 36-5. Thanks to our Active fans Bret Harris, Michelle Nation and Dave Ellis for their support!!

Attached is proof of the hard hitting nature of this game . The picture includes an x-ray of a broken arm which resulted from the match. You can include it if you dont think its too much.

!Broken Arm.jpg!

LIZ HARRELL, Director San Diego tackled 35 miles and 1000 ft of climbing on her pretty blue bicycle! From the UCSD parking lot, they rode down Torrey Pines (I got up to 21 mph when my hands were too tired to keep feathering the brakes). We rode up the coast line to Carlsbad, did the Cannon Loop then headed back down the coast. Whew!!!

If you participate in an activity that is in the Active Directory, please go to the event, login and post a comment! You can comment/rate all events in our Directory, whether or not Active provides registration.

This weekend's report is truley impressive and I'm proud of each one of you. Get ready for a big dose of inspiration:

SHAWN BOOM For the weekend warrior, Im proud to say that I completed a 37 hour trail running race, traveling 102.6 miles this weekend.

Friday morning at 8am I toed the starting line of the Superior 100 Trail run on the North Shore of Lake Superior. The Superior Hiking Trail (SHT) is rugged and wooded foot-traffic only trail that follows the rocky ridgeline above Lake Superior in northeastern Minnesota. It stretches from Two Harbors to the Canadian border. The trail dons extreme baby head rocks, tree roots with nearly every step, heart racing uphills, and quad pounding declines. None of the physical surroundings, however, compared to the monsters that attack the mind during a 37 hour event that had me see two sunrises and two sunsets before resting.

I remember as a kid sitting down with a blank piece of paper and a penning my life goals. Marathon, check. Ironman, check. Climb a mountain, check. The one that scared me the most though, was to run 100 miles. Ever since I was 13 and picked up a runners world magazine at the local library and read an article about the concept, Ive feared the distance. Mark Twain said Do the thing you fear most and the death of fear is certain.. After running from 8am on Friday morning to 9pm on Saturday night without stopping or sleeping, Im happy to report Im not longer afraid of what lies on the fringes.

I am not highly scientific about my training or about researching the course ahead of time, so I had overlooked the fact that what I initially though was a 100 mile run turned out to be 102.6 total miles on what the race directly claims to be one of the top five hardest trail races in North America. Luckily I found out about the extra 2.6 miles a few days ahead of time. Apparently they came free when you pay for the 100 mile entry fee.

I had an incredible support crew in my fabulous wife Bethany and my parents who met me at every single aid station with warm soup, ginger ale, turkey sandwiches, and most importantly a healthy dose of mental nourishment.

Sunday the ActiveX team celebrated our fearless leader, Arch Fuston, with a thank you Arch! BBQ in his honor. Arch has sacrificed a lot of himself this year, organizing our thrice weekly ActiveX workouts at the company headquarters in San Diego. He has pushed us athletically, challenged us to do more than we thought we were able, organized our weekend triathlon workouts, and has inspired us to reach goals we didnt think we could reach. We have not only seen our bodies change, but we have created friendships that are very unique in a work environment. The ActiveX team has become like a family, and if it was not for Arch we would not have this truly unique experience. The least we could do was get a custom ActiveX surfboard made for him. Arch was very surprised and touched. Thanks to Hannah Sansome for organizing the event and coordinating the surfboard, and to Kelly Conti for hosting the event at her house. We feel very lucky to have a company that supports our athletic endeavors and gives us the ability to have such a unique experience. (Written by Carrie James)

MIKE DOBRANSKY and STEPHANIE SNAMAN competed in the LA Triathlon this weekend with a crowd of about 2000 finishers. Armed with the preparation of Active X and weekly swims in La Jolla, we set off in search of fast times on the streets of LA. Luckily for us we have experience in medium sized surf and didnt get pummeled by the waves coming out of the water (some folks did)... riding the empty streets of LA was a blast and actually pretty eerie. We would definitely do this event again. Special shout out to Bethany and Bekah for making the trip to be our support and crew for the weekend.

This week-end, 1 200 participants (all registered through Active Europe) gathered in Monaco for the Ironman 70.3. With a great sun and perfect conditions to race, it was one of the most exciting race of the season. LAURENT GAUTHIER (European Manager) along with PIERRE DUVELLEROY (European executive account manager) were there to meet some clients & prospects and monitor the entries opening for the 09 edition.

Even if this race is said to be one of the toughest Ironman 70.3, its fantastic to be able to race in Monaco and especially on the Formula One track. You get to do 5 loops of the official Formula one track if you were able to do the 90k bike ride in the hilly French Riviera before.

If anyone wants to do an Ironman 70.3 in Europe, this is the one!

MIKE MACDONALD and his girlfriend camped with good friends at William Heise Park in Julian. On Saturday we hiked just over 6 miles around Mt. Laguna, discovering several lakes (read: stinky marshes) and dozens of cattle some of which were not so friendly. It was a great weekend and we are already planning a return before the sunny weather goes away.

JIM GARFIELD (AMG) had a change of pace this weekend. Instead of being IN the water racing, he had the opportunity to be ON the water piloting his dream boat a 52' Hinkley for a spin in the pacific!

On Sunday MICHELLE VALENTI got up at 4:45 am to help her boyfriend pick and sort grapes for his wine-making experiment. Come 3 p.m. I was tired but still had to do a 12 mile training run. I went across the street to my usual running trails and I immediately noticed a bunch of pink flags all along my course. There was a race going on. I had caught the tail end of the Steven's Creek 50K, and although I was only running 12 miles it was great to have company and a cheering section on what would have been a long and lonely run.

Ashley Ellis participated in the 78th Annual La Jolla Rough Water Swim. This was my first open water race EVER as well as my first time racing a mile. After a long 4 days in Vegas working the ASCA conference for Active I had no idea how well I would do. Shockingly enough I placed 3rd OVERALL in the Masters Womens 1 mile race. I am still waiting for my official time and what place I took in my age division and will report that back to you as soon as I find out.

On Sunday, Jesse Hammond also lined up in La Jolla Cove with over 500 competitors for the 78th Annual La Jolla Rough Water Swim 3-mile Gatorman. After surviving the underwater wrestling match known as the start, it was a looong trip over to Scripps Pier. But that was nothing compared to fighting the rolling waves and current for the 1.5 miles back to the Cove.

But I made itthe clock read 1 hour, 23 minutes when I hit the beachand I had a lot of fun finding out I could actually finish a swim that long without having to do the elementary backstroke.

Steve Mazza reports, "A beautiful late summer day at the nations' oldest roughwater swimming event. I swam the 1 mile in the La Jolla Roughwater Swim. Clear and sunny, almost 80 degrees at race start, water temp was 73. A bit of swell/chop and some kelp, but a great day!"

The end result of a weekend surfing session featuring Ricky, Nick, Karen, Andrea and myself  followed by stitches and five hours in the hospital. A guy will do anything to get his picture taken with a lifeguard!

Picture #2 may be too graphic for less-than-mature audiences.

Eddie Strickler did the Mt Baker Hill Climb race this weekend. Its a beautiful bike race along the Scenic Mt Baker Highway. The race starts in Glacier, WA (about 1,000 ft) and climbs up to Artist Pt above the Mt. Baker Ski Area (about 5,300 ft). It is 24.5 miles almost entirely uphill. It was my first time doing any serious riding and I kind of got worked on the hill. I finished in 2hrs flat. It was fun and a beautiful day for a ride.

GT and friends participated in the 26 miles first annual Bike the Bay ride (http://www.bikethebay.net/site3.aspx). About 2000 riders showed up at the Embarcadero on Sunday. Weather was perfect for riding but morning fogs affected the view from the Coronado Bridge. Crossing the Coronado Bridge on bicycle was interesting and the ride around the bay was a lot of fun.

Emily Ogata (Application Specialist) and Kirstin Hartos had their first rugby game of the Fall season against Coast WRC up in Long Beach on Saturday. It was Emily's first game back after her ACL surgery last December, but that didn't stop her! (see attached for proof) We did beat them 84-0 on the field, and won the boat race at the bar afterwards too! Shameless solicitation for fans: our first home game is this Saturday (9/13) at 11am at Robb Field in Ocean Beach, and should be a better contest against a more experienced team.

Post race, Sarah walked into the chilly Santa Cruz water to cool off, only to be accosted by a very strong NoCal wave, sending her tumbling along the ocean floor, filling her tri kit up with sand. A tough end to an already tough day. At 8:00pm last night, she was having a drink. Or two.

THEY TELL US LABOR DAY IS THE END OF SUMMER. DONT YOU BELIEVE IT, STRETCH IT OUT AS LONG AS POSSIBLE, HAVE A SUCCESSFUL WEEK. Mike

LIZ HARRELL says Its just a hill, get over it!  That was my mantra this weekend as I climbed my first set of hills (ever!) on my bicycle. 31 miles (including hills) on two (non-motorized) wheels and one very sore tooshie, that was my accomplishment this weekend. I am training to ride a century, taking place this November. Ive joined Team in Training to get me to my goal. They train me to ride and I raise money for a great cause. I still havent decided which is more difficult, fundraising or training. OK  shameless plug coming heres my website check it out http://pages.teamintraining.org/sd/tucson08/lharrell

Bonjour dear Mike,

LAURENT GAUTHIER European Managing Director reports Active is truly International and this weekend 3 of the French team gathered in Paris to race the Nike+ Human Race. LAURENT (sunglasses in pic) was supporting one of his friends along with ALEXIS TACQUARD (French account manager in the middle on the pic) who joined the team almost a year ago was doing his first running event ever and he was quite happy to cross the finish line in a little more than one hour. PIERRE DUVELLEROY (Executive account manager International  with his white cap on the left) did this race with his cousin who recently got kidney transplant so they both took the start with the only goal of finishing this race together and thats what they did 1h and 10 minutes later. It was a special experience for all of us. First running event ever for Alexis, first time live coaching for Laurent (next time, it will with Pierre on an Ironman but he doesnt know yet).

It was a very enjoyable 10K with very nice weather for this end Parisian summer with 4200 participants who all registered through Active!

JIM GARFIELD (AMG) ran the run portion of the Niles,MI Olympic Distance Traithlon with his brother Craig this past Saturday. Mayberry, USA is alive and well in MI where the gas is under $3 and the fresh peaches are as big as your head!

ALI TERRY Account Exec Swimming says ALOHA and practices what she sells! On Saturday, August 30th, I crewed for my husband who swam the Maui Channel(from Lanai to Maui) solo race in 3 hours 53 minutes. He was the 2nd solo swimmer out of 12 and was 14th overall including 45 relay teams(6 people)! I was extremely proud of him to say the least. He also raised thousands of dollars to support innercity drowning prevention programs! Today, Labor day, I swam the Maui 'Aumakua 2.4 Mile Swim. I was 2nd in my age group and not sure yet of my place overall. The swim was incredibly warm, clear and beautiful!

MICHELLE CREPEAU and the tennis group attended and worked the US Open then Michelle headed out to Lake Tahoe, CA for an end of summer trip with friends.

TOYA REAVIS, Implementation Analyst raced the famous (AND VERY TOUGH) Balboa 4 Mile Cross Country race this Saturday. I had trouble sleeping for the past 3 nights leading up to race day and did not know how I could race this challenging hilly course. I raced for a team so I could not back out. I raced on 4 hours of sleep! I ran tough  I ran 28:55, 23rd woman overall and won 1st in my age group. I still cant believe I ran. That was one of the toughest races in my life due to lack of sleep. Toya, Sleep is overrated! Mike

KEITH WILLIAMS, Account Exec in London, England raced a mountain bike enduro event on Saturday with around 300 other participants in Mid Wales. Here is the link to the event. The event was real good, and we had a sunny day! (very rare in Wales)

BROOKE KIRKPATRICK, Account Exec ActiveSports in Colorado GOT MARRIED! Her and new husband Jim tied the knot this last Saturday on top of Vail Mountain. The weather held out long enough for our ceremony overlooking Gamecreek Bowl followed by an awesome reception at the Gamecreek restaurant. Everything went perfect and we had the best time you could ever have! One year of planning for a 1 day event would make anyone build expectations, but when the day finally came, we could not have asked for anything better!

CHRIS INOUYE Implementation Thriva had a chance to run the Super Jock 'n Jill Half Marathon in Woodinville, WA. Perfect temperatures and a flat course helped me to PR with a time of 1:34:16. The best part: it ended at the Red Hook Brewery! I'm not sure what I was doing with my shirt when this picture was taken.

KRISTI DUBIEL, Implementation Analyst with Thriva. This weekend my kickball team traveled to Las Vegas, NV to represent Arizona in the Founders Cup National Championship. Yes, this is the same kind of kickball that you probably played in your youth. There were 64 teams that qualified this year and we ended up tied for 5th. My team played so well and even though we didnt win, we played much better than we even knew we were capable of doing. We won 18-1, 12-0, 7-1, 12-0 and then lost to the eventual champs 0-1. After playing sports all throughout my childhood and college, it was definitely exciting to get the adrenaline pumping like that again. Who knew kickball could be sooooo much fun and competitive J (Attached is a picture of our team before the tourney started)

HECTOR SUAREZ in SD likes to bike, swim, and run for recreation as well as work out at my club. I also hike near my home in Mission Trails Regional Park.

MICHAEL READE spent the weekend with HIS wife hiking in the Eastern Sierra. The scenery was incredible and the weather was usually good. We got ambushed by thunderstorms and hail right after reaching Bishop Pass at 12,000 feet, but except for that a great time.

BILL BLIVEN Account Exec is working hard on his Mountain Bike getting ready for a MTB camp in Tahoe October 2nd

EDNA CASTANEDA, Client Services- NYC Active Office took part with 10,000 runners on Sunday at Randalls Island (in NY) for The Nike Human Race 10K. The race was born with the goal to celebrate runners and their sport, while uniting athletes through the worlds largest running event ever organized in 26 cities world-wide. Each runner was able to pick from 3 charities that the race was benefiting: The UN Refugee Agency, WWF and the Lance Armstrong Foundation Edna (obviously) chose to have her donation go towards LAF which empowers survivors to live life on their own terms and raises awareness for the cancer fight.

BURT REPINE, ANDY GEORGE and a friend summited The Grand Teton (13,770 ft.), in Teton National Park, Wyoming, via the Pownall-Gilkey (5.8) route --- in a single day. The originally planned 2-day climb was shortened to just a day to avoid an impending snow storm. The trip covered roughly 20 miles, gained just over 7,000 feet in elevation, and involved 3 technical rock-climbing pitches above 13,000 feet. It took us 14 1/2 hours round-trip, beginning at the beguiling hour of 2:45 am. This single day effort was both one of the coolest, and hardest, things either of us has ever done. The views to and from the summit are indescribable.

MATTHEW HENRY, Interactions Designer Foundations did a seven mile run with Team in Training on Saturday morning and then ran the Super Jock 'n Jill Half Marathon on Monday in approximately 2 hours!

ASHLEY ELLIS, Acct Exec Swimming adventured out to the Channel Islands off the So Cal coast. There are five islands about 19 miles from the coast of Ventura CA where I spent my day sea kayaking, hiking and snorkeling around Scorpion Anchoage, Smugglers Cove and Prisoners Harbor. I had the pleasure to see a 4 pound FOX and over 100 dolphins for a 40 minute boat ride show. It was absolutely inspiring and incredible. The clarity to the water was stunning and learning all about the history to these Islands was fantastic. My body was sore from a 4 hour kayak followed by a 3 mile hike. Then on Monday pushed myself again for a nice Mile swim in the La Jolla Cove getting all geared up for the race this weekend.

MICHELLE SHAFFER, VP of Compliance in preparation for her trip to Mt. Whitney, I hiked the Twenty Lakes Basin Loop near Saddlebag Lake, located between Yosemite and Mono Lake. The scenery was breathtaking, and so were the 60-70 mph winds! Check out the pic attached.

After some last minute tips from triathlon legend Michellie Jones, JIM GARFIELD (AMG) PR'd in the Santa Barbara Long Course Tri. This in spite of last Wednesday's ActiveX hate-a-thon work out!

TAWNYA BORDALO and her husband ran the End of Summer Fire Run from La Jolla to PB on Sunday. This was our first event together and we had such a great time! The conditions were nice and cool in the morning and the course was easy and quick. I was able to decrease my average mile time by 54 seconds! Big thanks to ActiveX and the weekly trail running group!

BROOKE KIRKPATRICK and her fiancé Jim ran the Copper Mountain Half marathon this last Saturday finishing at 2:10. Out of the women, I was the 14th to finish, but there were a total of 82 people for this race!! The first half of the race took us around Copper Mountain Village and the second half was climbing up Vail Pass and then a nice run down to finish!

TOYA REAVIS competed in the Wild Duck 5K Cross Country race this Saturday. It is the 1st race of the Dirt Dog Cross Country series. It was very very competitive as most of the best runners in the region come out for the series. I was 17th woman overall and won 3rd in my age group. My time was 20:22 on a tough hilly course and it was warm and humid. 20:22 was same time I ran last week in the AFC 5K which was a flat road race on pavement - I am getting stronger.

HANNAH SANSONE made the long drive South to Imperial Beach for the IB Sprint Triathlon on Sunday. I placed 4th in my age group and was 20th overall out of a field of 152 women. This was such a fun day - everyone at the event was happy and positive and stepping up to cheer each other on. And I ran into another athlete from Active, Emily Ogata, which was definitely a highlight of the morning!

NUNO COSTA also competed in Imperial Beach Tri this weekend - finished 2nd in my age group - 25-29 Best finish in a race for me ever

ARCH and Christy Fuston moved this weekend with the help of some ActiveXers. We had a moving dolly, but we all agreed it would make it too easy, so we left it in the truck. Ahh, the intrinsic benefits of ActiveX!

LIZ & Scott HARRELL (San Diego office) rode with Team in Training this Saturday. Liz rode her bicycle for 21 miles!!! First time ever. Was even able to clip in and out with out falling down (not as easy as it sounds). Scott tackled 26 miles and discovered that padded bike shorts really do help!!! We are training for a century ride, El Tour de Tucson with Team in Training. They train us; we raise money for a really great cause.

TRISH OBERHAUS did the Accenture Chicago Triathlon for the second year and had a great time. We had beautiful weather for race day and I improved my sprint distance time from last year. I was also able to meet and hang out with Toby this weekend which was very cool. My wave started the race more than an hour before Tobys did, so when I finished I went back to the part of the course where the run begins. I ran with him to cheer him on (but only for a little bit because I couldnt keep up)

TOBY GUILLETTE raced the Olympic-distance Accenture Chicago Triathlon against 4,088 others and finished 262nd overall. The highlight of my trip was finally meeting Trish, my fellow Online Community Specialist, who Ive worked with for over a year.

SUMMERTIME, DONT YOU LOVE IT? RUNNING IN SAN DIEGO, MTN BIKING IN COLORADO, HIKING IN SO CAL, ACTIVE TEAM DOES IT ALL! Mike

LAUREN PISCO, Implementation LeagueOne ran the Americas Finest City (AFC) Half Marathon this weekend in San Diego. The beginning and middle of the course was great. The hill at the end was grueling, but I made it through in 1:51!

KEVIN BEATTY wants us to feel sorry for him. After a great vacation in the Punta Cana and almost having my flight cancelled in the Dominican Republic due to the tropical storm that tore through the island, I successfully landed in San Diego around 10 pm on Saturday night, all to wake up 4 hours after I got home to run the AFC Half. Definitely planning I dont recommend to anyone but it was worth it because I completed my first Triple Crown by running Carlsbad, La Jolla, and AFC Half Marathons. Way to get it done Kevin.

MIKE COLEMAN, Dir of Bus Dev ran another half marathon, competing in Americas Finest City half marathon this weekend, completing this years triple-crown series. I highly recommend training for races rather than Mikes strategy of I just do races without any training. This year races, next year training. HA HA Coleman real funny!

JIM DE LA CRUZ was able to successfully finish the AFC half marathon yesterday; I ran the race in 2:09, completing this event accomplished my goal of receiving the Triple Crown award for running the Carlsbad Half, and the La Jolla Half this year. No strollers allowed so I could not to push my son and double the work-out but my wife cheered for me after she finished the AFC 5K. Credit goes out to Ryan Drew for cheering me on throughout the race on his bike, thanks Ryan for the support! Great event looking forward to next year!

ANGIE TOWERY ran the AFC Half this weekend with her sister, Alicia. They ran this race together last year and definitely saw improvement in their time this year, but that hill at the end never seems to get easier!!! They celebrated their run afterwards at a friends Birthday BBQ Wig Party!!!

ARCH FUSTON and his wife Christy ran the AFC Half, the third race for the Triple Crown. Had a great day, felt X strong. Was on the way to a half-marathon, post-Achilles PR when the Brown Family knocked at the door and we ended up having a 7+ minute visit at mile 4. I kicked them out and tried to chase Christy down, but missed her by 2 minutes. Great morning, nice and hot, and you cant beat having IM Voice bring you across the finish line. Awesome day!

MICHELLE ULRICH ran with her twin sister LARA and said it is always good Mike to hear your voice bringing me in to the finish! Yesterday was great running the AFC Half Marathon. I ran a 1:31:03 to finish second in my age group and 19th female overall.

TOYA REAVIS ran the AFC 5K in Balboa Park in SD. She ran a fast 20:23 good for 1st in her age group and 8th female overall. But the best part is she was interviewed live on the local FOX news station after the race!

MICHELLE NATION reports the Nation sisters (Michelle in Product Management & JANEAN in Team Sports Sales along with our sister Kristie who flew in from Salt Lake), did the AFC half marathon this weekend. We had a blast jogging the whole thing together in matching shirts and enjoying the beautiful views. When we reached mile 11, Janean was particularly glad to have practiced running the hill on Lusk! The day ended with a PR for Janean and big thanks due to Mike Reilly for an awesome welcome call at the finish line.

JUDY FLYNN, School Finance ran the AFC Half Marathon on Sunday. I ran slower than planned but had a great time!

CHRIS WHEELER, Account Exec Blue Bear got off land and competed at the US Rowing Masters National Championships this past Thursday-Sunday with San Diego Rowing Club. We were blessed with tons of sunshine (Duh San Diego) and lots of good racing with crews from all over North America. To cap off the weekend, we won a National Championship in the Mens A 4 w/coxswain. This was by far our best race of the regatta. There were some pretty decorated rowers in the field and it was a very closely contested, so although it really hurt, it was great crossing the finish line first.

Take a guess what PATTI ROSENTHAL did this weekend. Of course Mountain biking in Crested Butte, Colorado. Unseasonably cold weather this last weekend in Crested Butte - snow in the upper local mountains. Still was able to get out & ride up Gothic Road to one of the epic trails in Crested Butte, Trail 401. An 11-mile ride up Gothic Road to the trailhead which is at 10,707 feet. Then up from there to over 12,000 feet where there are an abundance of wild flowers. Crested Butte is known for the Wildflower Capitol of Colorado. Beautiful!!

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BURT REPINE (3RD from left in photo) with 3 friends spent a windy night on the summit of San Gorgonio (11,499 --- highest peak in SoCal). Aside from the wind the weather was great and the night time views of the valleys below were fantastic.

NICOLAS REIS, Marketing International went out on Mission Bay in SD with some friends on a boat to go Wakeboarding and Waterskiing. Well, this was my first time out there and man do my arms hurt today (scared of ActiveX today). While I really had to fight to get up on the board, I was able to stay up on the Skis a couple of times (Proof attached J). Great times in sunny San Diego! Nico

So everyone in the SD office didnt run the ½ marathon. TOBY GUILLETTE & JESSE HAMMOND did a long swim this weekend. Inspired by that Phelps kid (and to train for the Gatorman open water swim Im doing in September and the Silverman full-distance triathlon Toby is doing in November), we jumped in at La Jolla Cove Sunday morning. Our swim took us straight to Scripps Pier, and then we headed back to La Jolla Shores for about a 2.2-mile trek. It was a beautiful day with perfect water temps and clear visibility.

From last weekend MEGHAN SWIRSKI & LEAH PARDINI participated in the Seattle City Chase event on August 9, 2008. Among the days challenges were Can-Can dancing with total strangers, tight-rope walking, kayaking on Lake Union, and lots, and lots of running followed by the best beer ever tasted at the Finish Line.

MICHELLE ULRICH, AE Endurance was in San Francisco this weekend and biked over the Golden Gate into Sausalito and then back. It was a great ride, good exercise and beautiful views!

AMBER MARTIN and ANDREA RISHMAWI hiked Iron Mountain Saturday afternoon in east San Diego County. It was pretty hot out, and we only ran into about 5 or 6 other hikers the whole time!

Way to be out there girls!

JASON LO, Account Exec reports on Sunday afternoon in Burnaby, Canada The Active Assassins Roller Hockey Club came back from a 2  0 deficit to win 3  2 and became the BRASS II Vancouver Inline Hockey League CHAMPIONS! The Assassins got the most out of their season by coming back through the secondary playoff bracket in the double-elimination playoffs, eliminating every single team from the tier out of the playoffs. With a VIHL record 8 game playoff stretch necessary to take the title, the Assassins did so in style led by Playoff MVP Lou Douillard. The Assassins lost in round 1 to a score of 4 - 3, but came back with 5 straight victories including 3 shut-outs which is unheard of in Inline Hockey.

The final three game series for the Championship title started off with a 7  0 victory by Active, then followed by a 3  2 overtime loss, and with a 3  2 victory to end the season on top! The Active Assassins are going to proudly display somewhere in the office (location TBA) the championship cup and are looking forward to another season again next April. Thanks to all the team members who made this year a successful 26 game run including: Brian Choy, Matthew Cox, Inderpal Dhaliwal, Lou Douillard, Matthew Hoffman, Megan Hollstedt, Jimmy Lam, Justin Leung, Jason Lo, Ryan Lyster, Jarryd Pinto, and Anthony Wong.

ALISON TERRY, Account Exec Swimming on Friday and Saturday competed at the United States Lifeguard Nationals. More than 2,000 of the USA ocean lifeguards competed south of the pier in Manhattan Beach, CA which proved to be a great surf racing venue! Lifeguard Nationals includes events such as paddle boarding, surf ski, swimming, rescue races, surf dory boats and running events. Some of the best surf lifesavers around the country competed and it was once again a high level national competitive event. Competition was fierce yet friendly and at the end of the day, we all bond together, tell stories of the past, and discuss lifesaving ideas for the future.

AIREY BARINGER and TOBY GUILLETTE did a scenic 100-mile bike ride throughout San Diego county on Saturday morning.

A PRETTY CALM WORKOUT WEEKEND BY THE ACTIVE TEAM. HAVE A GREAT AND PRODUCTIVE WEEK. Mike

PATTI ROSENTHAL had an awesome mtb ride from the top of Hotel Draw to Kennebec Pass on the Colorado Trail. An epic 7-hr day with 5 hrs of riding plus hike-a-bike. The wild flowers were plentiful with incredible views. We did have to ride in the rain for about an hour (afternoon storms are pretty common this time of year) but the rest of the ride was sunny & beautiful. Another must-do ride here in Durango, Colorado!

JIM GARFIELD (AMG) took race director Michael Epstein, Yahoo Sports Director Wayne Sieve and AMG's own Jessica Givens and friend on a VIP tour of the X Games this weekend in L.A. Thrills, spills and major heat were the theme of the successful 14th showing of these exciting games!

MICHAEL VALENTI I did his first 70.3 this weekend in Sonoma. JESSE HAMMOND did the aquabike after convincing his girlfriend and I to do Barb's Race. While Jesse racked his bike and kicked back his heels, Emmy and I headed out for the Half Marathon run in 98-degree heat. Emmy placed 3rd in her age group and Jesse placed 1st in his despite taking a wrong turn. Other than the heat, the course was beautiful and fun.

DAK JORDAN, ActiveEducate K-12 Division, and some friends hiked to the summit of South Sister Mountain (10,363 ft.) on Saturday. The weekend included a 24-mile backpacking adventure with the highlight being the summit of South Sister Mountain in the Three Sisters Wilderness near Bend, Oregon on Saturday.

RYAN DREW, Tennis Division raced XTerra Snow Valley yesterday (1000 yd. swim, 11 mile mtn. bike, 4 mile trail run). As it was my first Off-Road Triathlon, I was painfully surprised with a brutal race up and down the ski mountain at Snow Valley resort. The bike ride was pretty technical as the downhill portions were all sand and loose gravel which made for an interesting ride. On the first loop of the downhill portion I was cruising behind a guy who flew off the path and flipped over his handlebars. This was my initial warning that the rest of the day was going to be intense. I crashed on the second loop of the downhill portion, when my handlebars swept under me and I luckily clipped out in time to perform the ever amazing "superman" maneuver off of the bike, sliding 10 feet or so, skinng the right side of my body. I got up, pretended like nothing happened, got back on the bike and made my way to the bottom. The run was more of a hike as all the participants were huffing and puffing climbing up and down this mountain to make it to the finish. This was one of the harder races I have been apart of, and I was really happy to see the finish line. It was also very cool to see defending XTerra world champion Conrad Stoltz racing this course with us.

IT WAS A SPECIAL DAY IN SAN DIEGO WITH OVER 80 ACTIVE TEAM MEMBERS DOING THEIR FIRST EVER TRIATHLON AND DUATHLON! THIS WAS ONE OF THE BEST ACTIVE TEAM EVENTS IN THE LAST 10 YEARS, THE CAMARADERIE WAS INFECTIOUS! PLUS THEY ALL COMBINED TO RAISE OVER $57,000 FOR THE MONARCH SCHOOL. I NEVER SAW SO MANY SMILES AT A FINISH LINE; EVERYONE WAS HAVING A TON OF FUN!

FOR ONE WHO HAS BEEN INVOLVED WITH THE SPORT OF TRIATHLON SINCE THE LATE 70'S IT WARMS THE HEART KNOWING THE FUTURE IS VERY BRIGHT WITH ALL OF YOU NEW TRIATHLETES! Mike

Team Captains making it all work for the Solana Beach Triathlon were ARCH FUSTON, ALLISON REUTTER & ALYSON TYSON. With their leadership and passion the dream for so many to complete a triathlon became a reality. Check out the group picture and the Captains looking fresh after the race.

In ARCH FUSTONS (YOUR COACH EXTRAORDINAIRE) OWN WORDS:

There are events that happen in everyones life that lifts the spirit to a new height. Sunday was one of those events. Starting on Saturday night, the ActiveX Charity Team began the final journey towards their goal. Nearly 40 of us gathered for our own pre-race carbo load in Pacific Beach, toasting, staying loose and warding off the nasty pre-race jitters. You could tell right then and there we would be a huge success, as everyone was sporting the right attitude and confidence.

Sunday morning came very, very early. But who were the first ones on site? ActiveX. We immediately filled the parking lot, laughing, checking out the water, bathrooms, and just keeping it loose. What a great start to the day.

And then it happened. Over and over again, more and more Active.com kits were showing up. Before you knew it, you couldn't look anywhere and NOT see one of OUR athletes! We DOMINATED the event with our new presence. We received loads of air time from the race announcer, congratulating us on our numbers, the bulk of which were first timers. Everyone took notice. Comments abound throughout, like "I wonder if they would sponsor me next year" to "I wonder if Active.com is hiring?" We made an impact.

So I've raced a lot over the last 10 years. But NEVER in my race career have I winded myself yelling words of encouragement on course. Everywhere you looked, there was an Active.com athlete. "Go Carrie", "Go Ryan", "Go Nahied", it was non stop! I was like being hooked up to an IV bag of liquid motivation, it just kept coming.

At the end of the day, all 80+ were successful in the quest, and it showed. Hugs, high fives, slaps on the butt (not really, HR) were shared, a massive tangle of Active.com tri kits. Photos were taken by the hundreds, and Allison and Alyson were able to present our check of FIFTY-SEVEN THOUSAND DOLLARS to the Monarch School. The crowd went nuts! Active.com, if not already, was the hit of the event. What a day.

Next year, I predict, we double our participation numbers. Heck, that's what we're all about. Spread the tri gospel my friends, it is an amazing lifestyle. WHOOO HOOOO, GREAT WORK!!!

Oh, we also had a party that afternoon at the gracious Carson and Jared Hinkley's house. I'll let the stories speak for themselves. Not going there.

KEVIN BEATTY finished the Solana Beach Tri this weekend with a time of 1:06. Cant wait for the AFC ½ Marathon and Mission Bay Tri coming up!!!

HANNAH SANSONE was one of the MANY competing in the Solana Beach Triathlon. She placed 6th in her age group and REBECCA DAVITA placed 7th in her age group!

DEBRA URKA Application Specialist competed and finished her First Ever triathlon in 1:23:24 but who is counting! She cant wait to do her next one.

I finished the Solana Beach Tri (first ever!) in 1:23:24! It was great fun and I will be another one shortly!

NOLAN HANSEN was the big Actve Winner because he WON his age group!

Mike, Thank you for all the support yesterday. CHRIS WHEELER said it was great seeing you along with everyone else out there. Crossing the finish line with 80+ Active team members cheering me on was one of the best athletic experiences Ive had thus far. Chris was 2nd in his age group!

STEPHANIE SNAMAN writes it was a great weekend!! What an amazing day, no matter where you looked Active was there! Luckily BETHANY DOMINICK and I were able to run the last leg together and help keep each other motivated. We crossed the line together and clocked in at 1:05.10 which put us tied for 11th in our age group! We cant wait for the next one!

A BIG thank you to RUDY NOVOTNY the great announcer of the Tri who called all the Active team members across the line and helped us with the check presentation.

NUNO COSTA said he was proud to be a part of the Active group yesterday  racing representing Active was one of the best experiences I have ever had. Knowing what a great cause we were helping and how much we had raised collectively gave me some inspiration to compete really hard and I finished 4th in my age group with a time of 52:52, which is my best tri finish ever. Nuno looked like he could have done another one!

ANDREA LEVINSON says what a great race that was! Everyone did so well and on top of that have such a Great day!!! Im sure everyone has a lot of great pictures to share (I know I do) So, I thought it would be easiest to create an account on Snapfish for all of us to share our photos with each other. If you are interested just contact Andrea.

MARK WARBLE did the Solana Beach Duathlon yesterday morning. Had a great race finished 3rd in my age group with a time of 56:20. More importantly, Im so happy everyone on the ActiveX Charity team finished with smiles on their faces. Congrats to you all! And a huge thanks to Arch for his amazing coaching skills. This was such a success for Active- we certainly made ourselves known at the race.

THERE WERE OTHERS IN THE COMPANY WHO WERE ALSO ACTIVE THIS WEEKEND.

Starting with TOM MCGORTY: Well Mike, as I've mentioned before, I don't do much more than umpire so not sure if I belong in the same crowd as the Weekend Warriors. But, I did umpire in the Little League Michigan State Tournament (11-12 year olds) where the winner, Bay City SW heads to the Central Region tournament. If they can win there, their next step would be the World Series in Williamsport.

STEVE HOOVER, ActiveNet Development Manager enjoyed a great day of hiking and fishing with family and friends in Lake Tahoes Desolation Wilderness region.

BURT REPINE, Foundations Development was out in Colorado over the weekend with his Mom and friend in tow. On Saturday we ticked off Mt. Elbert (14,440 feet --- second highest in continental U.S. next to Mt. Whitney) and on Sunday we hiked up Grays (14,270 ft.) and Torreys (14,267 ft.) before flying back to the cozy comforts of sea level.

JARRYD PINTO, Inside Sales Health & Fitness reports the Active Assassins squeezed out another thriller in Sundays 6-5 overtime victory advancing further in the VIHL playoffs. With the return of stars Lou Douillard, Jason Lo, and Brian Choy, the team pulled together negating 3 deficits leading them to victory in sudden death overtime. With two more knockout games remaining before the finals, the Assassins will need to bring their A-Game to beat the Burnaby Blues on Tuesday night. With anticipation of a full line-up, the Assassins look forward to sending yet another team packing.

The arena happens to be around the corner from the Burnaby office so any supporters in the area are encouraged to come out and help your Assassins through another conquest.

LEVI SMITH also participated in the Solana Beach Triathlon yesterday. It was my first time competing in a triathlon and I had so much fun. It definitely will not be my last! I was worried from the start about the swim. Once in the water, I started panicking and couldn't control my breathing. I saw some divers come out of the water and started feeling a little calmer. I continued my swim. About halfway through, I had to hold on to a life guards board for about 30 secs and then continued on. I am also very greatful for swim buddies, they were very encouraging! Coming out of the ocean I was puking and in shock that I had finished the swim. Once I heard the crowd cheering, I instantly started felling energized and began to run towards the transition.

The rest of the event was pretty smooth except the bike to run transition(T2); I almost ran out of there without my helmet on!

NICOLAS REIS, Intenational was not one of the Triathletes in Solana Beach, shame on me, I know. I went to Huntington Beach to see the US Open Surf Championship. Although I am not a big surfer (Well, I am big, just not a surfer:), it was amazing what those guys were able to do.

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